fiction – Page 3 – Sincerely Karen Jo

The Key to Everything

EXPECTED PUBLICATION – December or January 2018 by Paula Stokes

GENRE(S): YOUNG ADULT, CONTEMPORARY, ROMANCE

College senior Oakland Fuller has always believed in signs and soulmates, so when both a therapist and a fortuneteller say that her repeated relationship failures are due to unresolved feelings for her high school boyfriend, Seth, Oakland tries desperately to get back in touch with him. Problem: Seth isn’t responding to her online messages.

To rescue Oakland from a pathetic Christmas break of sitting in front of the computer, her best friend Morgan books the two of them on a guided excursion of Thailand. When the girls meet a pair of American soldiers in Bangkok, Oakland takes Morgan’s advice and engages in a little harmless holiday hooking up. Sergeant Tyson Banks is the perfect mix of sexy and fun. Two weeks with him might just turn out to be the best relationship Oakland has ever had.

Until the day she spots someone familiar across a crowded temple complex—it’s Seth! Somehow the boy she’s been trying to reconnect with is in Bangkok too. If that’s not a sign, then what is?

Filed with friendship, romance, and gorgeous faraway settings,The Key to Everything is a book for anyone who’s ever dreamed of finding love when (or where) they least expected it.

Paula Stokes is one of my favorite authors. I fell in love with her writing style last year when I read Girl Against the Universe, a YA contemporary romance. Recently, I finished the Vicarious duology, a YA mystery /thriller, and LOVE that so much too! There’s no doubt in my mind that Paula is a talented and versatile writer. Her writing is so captivating and always hits all the right FEELS. I’m really excited to get into this book! The Key to Everything sounds so amazing that I just know I’m going to love it.

Any thoughts about this book? Anyway thanks for reading and have a great day!

Sincerely Karen Jo

Click’d

Tamara Ireland Stone

4 ★ – Entertaining and Inspiring

Published by Disney Hyperion September 5, 2017

Genre(s): Middle-Grade, Contemporary

Pages: Hardcover 208

Buy Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Allie Navarro can’t wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. CLICK’D pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it’s a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about CLICK’D.

Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone’s making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone’s secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt-all before she steps on stage to present CLICK’D to the judges?

Click’d is a such a delightful coming of age story. I’ve never read anything by Tamara Ireland Stone, but that’s definitely going to change.

The plot is fast-paced, easy to read, and so much fun. For a middle grade book, I was surprisingly very entertained.. but beyond that, Click’d also has heart. Stone delivers empowering messages that apply not only to children or tweens, but to also to adults like me. That’s what I truly love about this book…that I can walk away with something more than just a few laughs here and there. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I love stories that seem simple, but definitely packs a punch. Being successful does not mean winning, but working through your failures and never giving up. It’s about taking a leap and really believing in yourself to achieve whatever goals you have.

I really love the idea of creating Apps and using technology to do some good and make the world a better place. We definitely need more of that right now. Allie and Nathan are such great role models. I absolutely admired them for being creative, passionate, and determined. I don’t have any experience with coding, but it must take a lot of hard work and patience to be able to do what they did. Their commitment and enthusiasm with their projects was absolutely inspiring. I also loved the growing friendship between them and it was so adorable to watch them work together and become great friends. I liked the side characters too. Allie’s friends and everyone seemed genuine and realistic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story – it’s heartwarming, beautifully written, engaging, and inspiring.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.